Following Jesus is more than simply becoming a better person or developing the character of Christ. While becoming like Jesus is essential, there is another dimension to discipleship that we can sometimes overlook: Jesus has called His followers to do the things He did. His invitation is not simply to admire His life or imitate His character, but to follow Him into the works He demonstrated through His earthly ministry and into the “greater things” He promised His followers would do.
Jesus said that whoever believes in Him would do the works He had been doing and would do even greater works because He was going to the Father. This promise challenges the way we often think about the Christian life. We can easily assume that supernatural ministry, healing, deliverance, evangelism, and the operation of spiritual gifts are reserved for pastors, missionaries, or people with a specific ministry calling. But Jesus gave this promise to those who believe in Him. The call is for ordinary followers of Jesus to carry His presence and continue His work wherever they go.
This is especially important in a world that needs more than words. The gospel is proclaimed through our words, but our lives should also provide evidence of the reality of Jesus. Jesus demonstrated the kingdom of God in ordinary places and ordinary moments. He ate with sinners, welcomed people others rejected, prayed for the sick, brought freedom to those in bondage, and demonstrated the Father's power in people's everyday lives. These things were not separate from His ordinary life; they were part of it. As His followers, we should expect the Holy Spirit to work through us in similar ways.
The key to walking in this greater work is not striving harder or trying to manufacture supernatural experiences. Jesus connected His promise to abiding in Him. In John 15, He explains that when we remain in Him and His words remain in us, our desires begin to align with His desires. As we endure with Christ through both the easy seasons and the difficult ones, our hearts become increasingly shaped by His heart. We begin to want what He wants, ask for what will bring glory to the Father, and recognize opportunities to participate in what He is doing around us.
That process also requires us to confront the gap between what Jesus has promised and what we are currently experiencing. It can be tempting to become discouraged when our reality does not look like our expectation, but the gap itself can become a place of growth. Instead of lowering our expectations to match our circumstances, we can allow God to teach us how to move toward what He has called us to. We can pray, study, grow, contend, and remain faithful while trusting that God is working even when we do not yet see the fullness of what we are believing for.
The message also challenges us to expand our imagination. Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that God is able to do exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine. Sometimes our expectations are limited because we can only imagine God answering our prayers according to our own understanding. But God's ways are higher than ours, and what He wants to accomplish may look completely different from what we envisioned. We are encouraged to ask boldly and imagine what God could do while remaining open to Him accomplishing it in ways that are beyond our understanding.
Finally, God desires to expand our influence so that the gospel can reach beyond our immediate surroundings. Like Jabez, we can pray for God to bless us and enlarge our territory—not for selfish gain or personal prosperity, but so that our influence, resources, relationships, and opportunities can become avenues through which the gospel reaches more people. The mission begins where we are, in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities, but it ultimately reaches toward the nations.
Following Jesus into the greater means refusing to settle for a Christianity that only exists inside the church. The Holy Spirit was given so that we could become witnesses wherever we go. We are called to carry the character of Christ, the compassion of Christ, the power of Christ, and the message of Christ into the places where God has already positioned us. Rather than allowing fear, disappointment, or low expectations to determine what is possible, we can abide in Jesus, raise our expectations, and believe that He wants to work through ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things for His kingdom.
